Rainbow Glass Universe, one of the Five Lower Universes…
The celestial bodies in this universe were a beautiful spectrum of colors, looking very much like the rainbow spectrum when passing through glass, hence the name.
Silver Specter appeared in a timely fashion. Behind it was another ship, a Blueblood Clan warship that was carrying Soza.
“We only used five hours for this trip,” Xia Fei had established communications with Soza, and said after glancing at his watch, “I really don’t understand. Since Alpha already has such a convenient spatial array in place, why has it not been made available for public use? It seems like there are secrets everywhere in this universe.”
Soza thought nothing of it. “The Alpha Universe is very chaotic. You humans have this innate nature to kill one another. The moment this spatial array is put into use, the speed of wars occurring would increase severalfold. Right now, due to the lack of this Spatial Array, when a significant force makes an attempt to attack another force, they have to take a long voyage through space. As such, there will be enough time for the Gemini Stars to investigate the truth, and prevent matters from descending into an uncontrollable situation.”
Xia Fei lit a cigarette. So it turned out the Annihilation Universe had considered this point, and made it such that Alpha Universe was the only universe that lacked the existence of a Spatial Traversal array. Mulling over things, Xia Fei agreed it was the sensible thing to do. The moment the Spatial Array became public, those Dark Spiritualists would most definitely begin killing all over the place. Relying on warship-speed as a manner of transportation greatly decreased the amount of trouble that the Dark Spiritualists could cause.
“Where are we off to next?” Xia Fei asked Soza.
Soza shook his head, “No, it’ll just be you, not us. This time, you’ll be going on your own. I’ll instruct my man to send you the coordinates right now, as well as a star map of Rainbow Glass, with the location of jumpgates.”
Xia Fei silently nodded.
After Soza sent Xia Fei the information he needed, he bade farewell and departed. Watching the warship leave, Radix grew curious, “Strange. It’s clear how concerned Roderick was about this matter, so why would he not send someone to take action with you? Could he be wanting to help his friend in secret, but did not want him to know about his involvement?”
Xia Fei puffed out a smoke ring and stated calmly, “Radix, when will you change that habit of being kind-hearted? It seems like this patient might be in a dire state of health, but Roderick doesn’t believe I can really cure them. In fact, there might even be the possibility for the patient to die during the process of the treatment.
“That is why Roderick only asked for me to give it a shot. If I succeed in healing the patient, he will surely take credit. But if the patient were to die from the treatment, he would immediately distance himself from me so as to avoid being implicated. In such a situation, the smartest choice would be for me to find my own way to their door under his name, so he could easily capitalize on either outcome.”
Radix was startled, muttering to himself, “How vicious. Looks like this Roderick isn’t really a good person, either!”
Xia Fei thought otherwise. “There has never been a good person in this world!”
“Then what do we do?” Radix asked anxiously. Despite the fact that he was many years older than Xia Fei, he was actually very naive. The moment Xia Fei mentioned that Roderick was playing them, he grew extremely nervous.
His gaze fixed ahead, Xia Fei’s lips curled into that smirk of his. He shook the box that Soza had just handed to him and softly mused, “Well, isn’t it obvious? Since I’ve already received the 10,000 standard units of Spirit Energy, I’ve never promised that I’ll do anything.”
Radix realized something big. Xia Fei was indeed holding onto the energy transference device that the Annihilation Universe used. Given how Spirit energy and Soul energy were both currencies there, they had many different types of devices that allowed Spirit Energy to be easily transferred about. Now that Xia Fei had already obtained what he needed, all that was left was to just go through the motions of ‘trying’.
…
The Rainbow Glass Universe was different from Undercurrent. This place utilized universal jumpgates to traverse space, and even Xia Fei’s Silver Specter could easily pass through them.
He did not have to spend much time transitioning through the various jumpgates before arriving at his destination. It was a planet called Snake’s Kiss.
The Rainbow Glass Universe was a standard universe that had plenty of races all living together, similar to the situation in the Law Realm. No sapient race had established themselves as the majority, which was evident from the mess of different warships that were docked on Snake’s Kiss. Silver Specter hardly looked conspicuous among the variety of hull designs.
The designated location for his rendezvous was a large mansion located in the city center. XIa Fei immediately went up and knocked on the door, handing over the letter that Roderick had prepared for him.
The moment the guard posted at the gate saw Roderick’s name, he hurriedly reported this to his superiors, while at the same time inviting Xia Fei into the compound with a show of utmost courtesy.
…
“Looks like this doesn’t seem to be some large family; they look very ordinary.” Radix shook his head, perplexed.
Anyone that could form ties with the Patriarch of the Zadin Clan and make Roderick spare no expense to invite Xia Fei over had to be at least someone of similar caliber to him. While this mansion appeared to be very luxurious, it was still nothing compared to the Aurora Clan in Radix’s eyes, and it was only natural for him to be somewhat skeptical.
“Never judge a book by its cover,” Xia Fei replied as he lit a cigarette. “The size of the compound doesn’t matter. What matters is who lives inside.”
Radix nodded, agreeing that Xia Fei’s words made sense.
Xia Fei and Radix did proceed deeper into the compound and stood by the entrance of the courtyard to smoke. That was when the rather lavishly decorated gate opened, and a twin engine hovercar drove inside.
Xia Fei instinctively dodged to the side, the angle and speed were all perfectly calculated in Xia Fei’s mind. An expert speedster like him was more than capable of adjusting himself by a millimeter, and would never accidentally make it two.
But this hovercar was moving at a very high speed, and it totally did not care if there were still people standing by the entrance to the courtyard. Its twin engines roared and there was even a shrill feminine screech coming from within the car.
“A good dog doesn’t get in the way, and death will be all that awaits one that stands in my way!”
There was no one else around, so the woman had to be referring to Xia Fei.
*Vroom!*
That twin engine hovercar edged near Xia Fei and roared past. Though Xia Fei was in complete control of the situation, Xia Fei nevertheless furrowed his eyebrows when he was confronted with the display of reckless driving.
After the car drove away deeper into the compound, Radix asked curiously, “Given your temper, you ought to have torn that car in half after what happened. Why did you show restraint this time?”
Xia Fei chuckled lightly, “There’s no need for me to get my hands dirty; just a word from me and that woman won’t live for very long.”
Soon, a servant came to lead Xia Fei into a solitary three-story house in the compound. An elderly individual came to greet him from afar, grasping Xia Fei’s hand warmly as he said, “You must be Xia Fei, right? The one Roderick sent?”
Xia Fei nodded and examined the elder closely. He had quite a gentlemanly appearance, and were it not for the wisp of beard on his chin, he could very easily pass for a middle-aged man. His skin was so pale that it was somewhat unnatural and would likely be the envy of many women out there, especially given how well-maintained it looked, his cheeks flushed in a healthy pink.
Aside from that elder, there was also another chubby dark face upstairs. After seeing how warmly the elder had treated Xia Fei, this person harrumphed coldly and took a sip of the teacup in his hand, and refused to spare them another look.
“My name is Xiu Qian, the owner of this place. Treat this place like it’s your own home, and definitely do not stand on ceremony with me. Come, let’s head upstairs and have a seat,” Xiu Qian said as he took Xia Fei’s hand into his arm and led him upstairs.
Xiu Qian did not put on airs. There were hardly any servants around along the way. The owner Xiu Qian was quite a polite and kind old man, and his welcome made Xia Fei temporarily forget quite a bit of the unhappiness he had felt with the incident by the gate.
There were only three people upstairs. Aside from Xia Fei and Xiu Qian, there was that chubby man who appeared to be middle-aged. His head was covered in rolls of fat and he looked physically weak, but Xia Fei could tell in a glance that he was a Spiritualist as well, from a lineage that detested fighting.
Xiu Qian had no servants serving him, so the elder personally served tea to both Xia Fei and the chubby man before addressing them both, “Come, let me introduce you two to one another. This here is a Great Spiritualist from the Annihilation Universe, Huo Ying, and this young man is Xia Fei. I asked Roderick to introduce me to a capable Spiritualist, so I believe Brother Xia Fei is a Spiritualist, too?”
Xia Fei laughed, “Elder, I am indeed a Spiritualist, but I wouldn’t call myself outstanding. I am only at six Soul Marks.”
Upon hearing Xia Fei only had six Soul marks, the Spiritualist that went by the name of Huo Ying let out a cold scoff. Xiu Qian was put in a somewhat awkward spot, as he hurriedly said, “Young and promising, Xia Fei is a young man who shows great promise! For Roderick to send you to me just goes to show that you must be something extraordinary in the ways of Spiritual healing.”
Xiu Qian chatted with Xia Fei and Huo Ying about trivial domestic matters, prompting Huo Ying to somewhat impatiently interject, “Mister Xiu, let’s skip the niceties and get down to business. I had been entrusted by others this time to have a look at the illness your family’s Xiu Yiyi is suffering from, so why don’t we start right away? I still have many things I need to attend to back in Annihilation, unlike some people who can spend time idling by.”
Huo Ying intentionally placed emphasis on his words when he said “Annihilation” and “idling by”. He was clearly directing them toward Xia Fei. Who knew what gunpowder the man had eaten for him to express such displeasure toward Xia Fei right from the get-go.
The moment Xiu Qian noticed the atmosphere growing awkward, he quickly said, “Okay, since Master Huo and brother Xia Fei have both arrived at the same time, we have ourselves a rare opportunity in our hands. Let me call my granddaughter out and consult the two eminent Spiritualists.”
Consultation in this context was for two or more doctors to examine the patient, so they could all discuss their diagnosis. Though Xia Fei and Huo Ying were both Spiritualists, being a Spiritualist of Healing was not too different from being a doctor. Both would treat their patients in a bid to save their lives, and so calling it a consultation was fairly appropriate.
But no one expected Huo Ying to become even angrier upon hearing this, muttering under his breath, “Forget about a consultation; I’m not risking letting someone else steal my skills.”
*Zing*
The eyes of Xia Fei glowed, and Huo Ying felt a chill run down his spine. This man had belittled Xia Fei because of the status he held, without even realizing that Xia Fei was actually a very ruthless man, and a warrior on top of being a Spiritualist!
The atmosphere was heavy. Xia Fei was already wondering if he should just kill this detestable person, when he heard a girl’s voice cry out from behind him, “Grandfather, what swindlers have you found this time?! They are all just trying to trick you of your money! Don’t believe them!”
Well, this one was even more amazing, instantly calling both Spiritualists, Xia Fei and Huo Ying together, swindlers in one go!
Xia Fei turned around to look and his anger immediately dissipated. Standing there was a scrawny little girl about eleven or twelve years old, with her hair tied up in a braid. She had a childish look to her, and it was not hard to tell from the color of her face and the energy fluctuation coming from her that she had major problems with her seventh brain region; there was no way of knowing if she would live out the year.
Xia Fei could not be bothered to argue with a little girl who looked like she was about to die. Instead, it was Huo Ying who glared at her ungraciously.
“This is my precious granddaughter, Xiu Yiyi. Yiyi, you cannot be disrespectful with your words. Quick come and ask for forgiveness from these two masters,” Xiu Qian pressed, a mortified expression on his face.
Xiu Yiyi pouted, pulling out a purple peach from her pocket and began eating as she said dismissively, “Who’s going to apologize to them? Anyone who can’t cure me of my illness is nothing but a swindler!”
Before she finished her sentence, Xia Fei suddenly made his move, and slapped the peach right out of Yiyi’s hands!
He moved with such swiftness that Xiu Yiyi had quite the scare from the sudden motion. The color on her face drained, and there was no peach when she bit down, so she ended up biting down on her teeth instead!
“You still dare to eat a Purple Soul Peach, despite being in such a state? You must really be tired of living!” Xia Fei remarked coldly.
